Saturday, February 18, 2012

Long Run, Copters & The Kennebec Fruit Company

Val, Rick, Linda and Jerry hosted their annual event today...a Fat Ass event that meanders through fields and some woods near their houses. It's always big fun and today was no different. In fact, it was quite special. I couldn't think of a finer way to kick off my vacation than running with good friends, flying around in a helicopter and then meeting a real life character from Stephen King's latest book, 11/22/63.

There were so many people it would be impossible to list them all, but I ran primarily with Ian, Emma, Jeremy and Zak. Sharing the trails with them was great as always. So, it was with great regret that my toes blistered up pretty badly and I called it a day after 20 miles, especially since I was otherwise full of energy and feeling strong. My groin muscles were also getting racked a bit with the lateral slipping from the snowy conditions. However, it was still a great run. I had a blast with everyone and the food everyone brought in for the aid station was also amazing.

Back to the trail conditions...they took me by surprise a bit. Bit of everything, just as Val had mentioned last night, but I didn't think it'd be as tough as it was. There was snow about a foot deep. There were bare fields. There were icy stretches. Today had it all. It was definitely challenging to run in.

Equipment wise, I opted to run in the MT110's with no additional traction like screws or YakTrax. That turned out to be the right choice, I felt. Not sure why my toes blistered up so bad. I hope it was just the worn out, scratchy socks I was wearing combined with cold and wet conditions. I'd hate for it to be because of the shoes, because I'm otherwise really enjoying them here in the early stages. Time will tell.

But what helped make the day epic was Jerry very generously offering to take us on rides in his helicopter after we ran. Big fun. He had taken me up once before a few years ago, and like then, I was still amazed at how smooth the ride is.

Flying over the Lisbon area.

On the way home, Kate and I drove through downtown Lisbon. We had seen the Kennebec Fruit Company on the ride in. If you've read Stephen King's 11/22/63, then you know of the store. So, on the way back, we decided to stop in. We met the owner, Frank Anicetti Jr., who is featured as the son of the owner in the book! He's REAL! That was really, really awesome. And he's a super nice guy, to boot. A great cap to an already epic day!